BILL NUMBER: AB 921	CHAPTERED  10/10/99

	CHAPTER   903
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   OCTOBER 10, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   OCTOBER 9, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   SEPTEMBER 9, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 9, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 7, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 3, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 1, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 24, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 17, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JULY 7, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 20, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 11, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Keeley

                        FEBRUARY 25, 1999

   An act to amend Sections 1777.5, 1777.7, 3070, 3075, and 3080 of,
to add Sections 3073.1 and 3098 to, and to add and repeal Section
3073.2 of, the Labor Code, relating to apprenticeship programs.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 921, Keeley.  Apprenticeship programs.
   Existing law establishes the California Apprenticeship Council to
issue rules and regulations that establish apprenticeship standards,
among other things.  The council is composed of 14 members appointed
by the Governor plus the Director of Industrial Relations or his or
her designee, the Superintendent of Public Instruction or his or her
designee, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges or
his or her designee.  The Governor's appointees include 6
representatives each from employer and employee organizations,
geographically selected, and 2 representatives of the general public.
  This provision also provides that each member of the council shall
receive $50 for each day of actual attendance at council or committee
meetings together with actual and necessary traveling expenses.
   This bill would provide that the Governor's appointees shall be 6
representatives each from employer organizations that sponsor
apprenticeship programs and employee organizations that sponsor
apprenticeship programs, geographically selected, and 2
representatives of the general public.  This bill would also increase
the council members' per diem to $100 for each day of actual
attendance at council or committee meetings together with actual and
necessary traveling expenses.
   Existing law requires the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship
Standards or his or her representative, among other things, to
foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the apprentice and
industry, improve the working conditions of apprentices, and advance
their opportunities for profitable employment.
   This bill would additionally require the division to randomly
audit all apprenticeship programs during each 5-year period
commencing January 1, 2000, to ensure compliance with specified
requirements, including industry-specific training criteria that the
bill would authorize the division to adopt, as specified.  The
authorization to adopt these criteria shall be repealed on January 1,
2003, unless a later enacted provision deletes or extends that date.
  The bill would require every apprenticeship program sponsor to
cooperate with the division in conducting the audit.  The audit
reports would be presented to the California Apprenticeship Council
and made public, except as specified.  The chief would recommend
remedial action to correct deficiencies and failure to correct them
within a reasonable time would be grounds for withdrawing state
approval of a program.
   Existing law requires contractors on public works who employ
journeymen or apprentices to contribute to a fund to administer
certain apprenticeship programs, as specified.
   This bill would revise those contribution requirements and would
provide that, at the end of each fiscal year, the California
Apprenticeship Council shall make prescribed grants to apprenticeship
programs.
   Existing law requires that the ratio of apprentice work to
journeyman work performed on public works be not less than one hour
of apprentice's work for every 5 hours by a journeyman, except as
specified in the case of the land surveyor classification.  A
violation of this provision is punishable by a civil penalty of $50
per day of noncompliance.  In the event of willful noncompliance of
this provision, the Director of Industrial Relations would be
required to debar the contractor, as specified.
   This bill would eliminate the land surveyor exception and increase
the civil penalty to $100 for each day of noncompliance.  This bill
would also impose a civil penalty of $300 for each day of
noncompliance in the event of a subsequent violation of this
provision within a 3-year period.  The bill would provide that where
a subcontractor is found to have violated these provisions, the prime
contractor shall not be liable, unless the prime contractor had
knowledge of the subcontractor's failure to comply or the prime
contractor failed to comply with specified requirements with regard
to the subcontract.  The bill would also revise the procedure for
debarment under these provisions.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares that apprenticeship
programs are a vital part of the educational system in California.
It is the purpose and goal of this legislation to strengthen the
regulation of apprenticeship programs in California, to ensure that
all apprenticeship programs approved under Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 3070) of Division 3 of the Labor Code meet the high
standards necessary to prepare apprentices for the workplaces of the
future and to prevent the exploitation of apprentices by employers or
apprenticeship programs.  It is further the intent of the
Legislature that apprenticeship programs should make active efforts
to recruit qualified men, women, and minorities and train them in the
skills needed for the workplace.
  SEC. 2.  Section 1777.5 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
   1777.5.  (a) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the employment
of properly registered apprentices upon public works.
   (b) Every apprentice employed upon public works shall be paid the
prevailing rate of per diem wages for apprentices in the trade to
which he or she is registered and shall be employed only at the work
of the craft or trade to which he or she is registered.
   (c) Only apprentices, as defined in Section 3077, who are in
training under apprenticeship standards that have been approved by
the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards and who are
parties to written apprentice agreements under Chapter 4 (commencing
with Section 3070) of Division 3 are eligible to be employed at the
apprentice wage rate on public works.  The employment and training of
each apprentice shall be in accordance with either (1) the
apprenticeship standards and apprentice agreements under which he or
she is training or (2) the rules and regulations of the California
Apprenticeship Council.
   (d) When the contractor to whom the contract is awarded by the
state or any political subdivision, in performing any of the work
under the contract, employs workers in any apprenticeable craft or
trade, the contractor shall employ apprentices in at least the ratio
set forth in this section and may apply to any apprenticeship program
in the craft or trade that can provide apprentices to the site of
the public work for a certificate approving the contractor under the
apprenticeship standards for the employment and training of
apprentices in the area or industry affected.  However, approval or
denial of the apprenticeship program shall be subject to review by
the Administrator of Apprenticeship.  The apprenticeship program or
programs, upon approving the contractor, shall arrange for the
dispatch of apprentices to the contractor.  A contractor covered by
an apprenticeship program's standards shall not be required to submit
any additional application in order to include additional public
works contracts under that the program.  "Apprenticeable craft or
trade," as used in this section, means a craft or trade determined as
an apprenticeable occupation in accordance with rules and
regulations prescribed by the California Apprenticeship Council.  As
used in this section, "contractor" includes any subcontractor under a
contractor who performs any public works not excluded by subdivision
(o).
   (e) Prior to commencing work on a contract for public works, every
contractor shall submit contract award information to an applicable
apprenticeship program that can supply apprentices to the site of the
public work.  The information submitted shall include an estimate of
journeyman hours to be performed under the contract, the number of
apprentices proposed to be employed, and the approximate dates the
apprentices would be employed.  A copy of this information shall also
be submitted to the awarding body if requested by the awarding body.
  Within 60 days after concluding work on the contract, each
contractor and subcontractor shall submit to the awarding body, if
requested, and to the apprenticeship program a verified statement of
the journeyman and apprentice hours performed on the contract.  The
information under this subdivision shall be public.  The
apprenticeship programs shall retain this information for 12 months.

   (f) The apprenticeship program that can supply apprentices to the
area of the site of the public work shall ensure equal employment and
affirmative action in apprenticeship for women and minorities.
   (g) The ratio of work performed by apprentices to journeymen
employed in a particular craft or trade on the public work may be no
higher than the ratio stipulated in the apprenticeship standards
under which the apprenticeship program operates where the contractor
agrees to be bound by those standards, but, except as otherwise
provided in this section, in no case shall the ratio be less than one
hour of apprentice work for every five hours of journeyman work.
   (h) This ratio of apprentice work to journeyman work shall apply
during any day or portion of a day when any journeyman is employed at
the jobsite and shall be computed on the basis of the hours worked
during the day by journeymen so employed.  Any work performed by a
journeyman in excess of eight hours per day or 40 hours per week
shall not be used to calculate the ratio.  The contractor shall
employ apprentices for the number of hours computed as above before
the end of the contract or, in the case of a subcontractor, before
the end of the subcontract.  However, the contractor shall endeavor,
to the greatest extent possible, to employ apprentices during the
same time period that the journeymen in the same craft or trade are
employed at the jobsite.  Where an hourly apprenticeship ratio is not
feasible for a particular craft or trade, the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards, upon application of an apprenticeship
program, may order a minimum ratio of not less than one apprentice
for each five journeymen in a craft or trade classification.
   (i) A contractor covered by this section that has agreed to be
covered by an apprenticeship program's standards upon the issuance of
the approval certificate, or that has been previously approved for
an apprenticeship program in the craft or trade, shall employ the
number of apprentices or the ratio of apprentices to journeymen
stipulated in the applicable apprenticeship standards, but in no
event less than the 1-to-5 ratio required by subdivision (g).
   (j) Upon proper showing by a contractor that he or she employs
apprentices in a particular craft or trade in the state on all of his
or her contracts on an annual average of not less than one hour of
apprentice work for every five hours of labor performed by
journeymen, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards may grant a
certificate exempting the contractor from the 1-to-5 hourly ratio, as
set forth in this section for that craft or trade.
   (k) An apprenticeship program has the discretion to grant to a
participating contractor or contractor association a certificate,
which shall be subject to the approval of the Administrator of
Apprenticeship, exempting the contractor from the 1-to-5 ratio set
forth in this section when it finds that any one of the following
conditions is met:
   (1) Unemployment for the previous three-month period in the area
exceeds an average of 15 percent.
   (2) The number of apprentices in training in the area exceeds a
ratio of 1 to 5.
   (3) There is a showing that the apprenticeable craft or trade is
replacing at least one-thirtieth of its journeymen annually through
apprenticeship training, either on a statewide basis or on a local
basis.
   (4) Assignment of an apprentice to any work performed under a
public works contract would create a condition that would jeopardize
his or her life or the life, safety, or property of fellow employees
or the public at large, or the specific task to which the apprentice
is to be assigned is of a nature that training cannot be provided by
a journeyman.
   (l) When an exemption is granted pursuant to subdivision (k) to an
organization that represents contractors in a specific trade from
the 1-to-5 ratio on a local or statewide basis, the member
contractors will not be required to submit individual applications
for approval to local joint apprenticeship committees, if they are
already covered by the local apprenticeship standards.
   (m) A contractor to whom a contract is awarded, who, in performing
any of the work under the contract, employs journeymen or
apprentices in any apprenticeable craft or trade shall contribute to
the California Apprenticeship Council the same amount that the
director determines is the prevailing amount of apprenticeship
training contributions in the area of the public works site.  A
contractor may take as a credit for payments to the council any
amounts paid by the contractor to an approved apprenticeship program
that can supply apprentices to the site of the public works project.
The contractor may add the amount of the contributions in computing
his or her bid for the contract.  At the end of each fiscal year the
California Apprenticeship Council shall make grants to each
apprenticeship program in proportion to the number of hours of
training provided by the program for which the program did not
receive contributions, weighted by the regular rate of contribution
for the program.  These grants shall be made from funds collected by
the California Apprenticeship Council during the fiscal year pursuant
to this subdivision from contractors that employed registered
apprentices but did not contribute to an approved apprenticeship
program.  All these funds received during the fiscal year shall be
distributed as grants.
   (n) The body awarding the contract shall cause to be inserted in
the contract stipulations to effectuate this section.  The
stipulations shall fix the responsibility of compliance with this
section for all apprenticeable occupations with the prime contractor.

   (o) This section does not apply to contracts of general
contractors or to contracts of specialty contractors not bidding for
work through a general or prime contractor when the contracts of
general contractors or those specialty contractors involve less than
thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) or 20 working days.
   (p) All decisions of an apprenticeship program under this section
are subject to Section 3081.
  SEC. 3.  Section 1777.7 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
   1777.7.  (a) A contractor or subcontractor that knowingly violates
Section 1777.5 shall forfeit as a civil penalty an amount not
exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) for each full calendar day of
noncompliance.  The amount of this penalty shall be based on
consideration whether the violation was a good faith mistake due to
inadvertence.  A contractor or subcontractor that knowingly commits a
second or subsequent violation of Section 1777.5 within a three-year
period, where the noncompliance results in apprenticeship training
not being provided as required by this chapter, shall forfeit as a
civil penalty the sum of not more than three hundred dollars ($300)
for each full calendar day of noncompliance.  Notwithstanding Section
1727, upon receipt of a determination that a civil penalty has been
imposed, the awarding body shall withhold the amount of the civil
penalty from contract progress payments then due or to become due.
   (b) (1) In the event a contractor or subcontractor is determined
by the Administrator of Apprenticeship to have knowingly violated any
provision of Section 1777.5, the Administrator shall deny to the
contractor or subcontractor, both individually and in the name of the
business entity under which the contractor or subcontractor is doing
business, the right to bid on or receive any public works contract
for a period of up to one year for the first violation and for a
period of up to three years for a second or subsequent violation.
Each period of debarment shall run from the date the determination of
noncompliance by the Administrator of Apprenticeship.
   (2) An affected contractor or subcontractor may obtain a review of
the debarment or civil penalty by transmitting a written request to
the office of the Administrator within 30 days after service of the
order of debarment or civil penalty.  If the Administrator receives
no request for review within 30 days after service, the order of
debarment or civil penalty shall become final for the period
authorized.
   (3) Within 20 days of the timely receipt of a request for hearing,
the Administrator shall provide the contractor or subcontractor the
opportunity to review any evidence the Administrator may offer at the
hearing.  The Administrator shall also promptly disclose to the
contractor or subcontractor any nonprivileged documents obtained
after the 20-day time limit.
   (4) Within 90 days of the timely receipt of the a request for
hearing, a hearing shall be commenced before an impartial hearing
officer designated by the Administrator and possessing the
qualifications of an administrative law judge pursuant to Section
11502 of the Government Code.  The contractor or subcontractor shall
have the burden of showing compliance with Section 1777.5.  The
decision to debar shall be reviewed by a hearing officer or court
only for abuse of discretion.
   (5) Within 45 days of the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing
officer shall issue a written decision affirming, modifying, or
dismissing the debarment or civil penalty.  The decision shall
contain a notice of findings, findings, and an order.  This decision
shall be deemed the final decision of the Administrator and shall be
served on all parties and the awarding body pursuant to Section 1013
of the Code of Civil Procedure by first-class mail at the last known
address of the party on file with the Administrator.  Within 15 days
of issuance of the decision, the hearing officer may reconsider or
modify the decision to correct an error, except that a clerical error
may be corrected at any time.
   (6) An affected contractor or subcontractor may obtain review of
the final decision of the Administrator by filing a petition for a
writ of mandate to the appropriate superior court pursuant to Section
1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure within 45 days after service
of the final decision to debar or to assess a civil penalty.  If no
petition for a writ of mandate is filed within 45 days after service
of the final decision, the order shall become final.  If the
petitioner claims that the findings are not supported by the
evidence, abuse of discretion is established if the court determines
that the findings are not supported by substantial evidence in light
of the entire record.
   (7) The Administrator may file a certified copy of a final order
with the clerk of the superior court in any county in which the
affected contractor or subcontractor has property or has or had a
place of business.
   (c) If a subcontractor is found to have violated Section 1777.5,
the prime contractor of the project is not liable for any penalties
under subdivision (a), unless the prime contractor had knowledge of
the subcontractor's failure to comply with the provisions of Section
1777.5 or unless the prime contractor fails to comply with any of the
following requirements:
   (1) The contract executed between the contractor and the
subcontractor or the performance of work on the public works project
shall include a copy of the provisions of Sections 1771, 1775, 1776,
1777.5, 1813, and 1815.
   (2) The contractor shall continually monitor a subcontractor's use
of apprentices required to be employed on the public works project
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 1777.5, including, but not
limited to, periodic review of the certified payroll of the
subcontractor.
   (3) Upon becoming aware of a failure of the subcontractor to
employ the required number of apprentices, the contractor shall take
corrective action, including, but not limited to, retaining funds due
the subcontractor for work performed on the public works project
until the failure is corrected.
   (4) Prior to making the final payment to the subcontractor for
work performed on the public works project, the contractor shall
obtain an affidavit signed under penalty of perjury from the
subcontractor that the subcontractor has employed the required number
of apprentices on the public works project.
   (d) In lieu of the penalty provided for in subdivision (a) or (b),
the director may for a first-time violation and with the concurrence
of the apprenticeship program, order the contractor or subcontractor
to provide apprentice employment equivalent to the work hours that
would have been provided for apprentices during the period of
noncompliance.
   (e) Any funds withheld by the awarding body pursuant to this
section shall be deposited in the General Fund if the awarding body
is a state entity, or in the equivalent fund of an awarding body if
the awarding body is an entity other than the state.
   (f) The interpretation and enforcement of Section 1777.5 and this
section shall be in accordance with the rules and procedures of the
California Apprenticeship Council.
  SEC. 4.  Section 3070 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
   3070.  There is in the Division of Apprenticeship Standards the
California Apprenticeship Council, which shall be appointed by the
Governor, composed of six representatives each from employers or
employer organizations and employee organizations, that sponsor
apprenticeship programs under this chapter, respectively,
geographically selected, and of two representatives of the general
public.  The Director of Industrial Relations, or his or her
permanent and best qualified designee, and the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, or his or her permanent and best qualified
designee, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, or
his or her permanent and best qualified designee, shall also be
members of the California Apprenticeship Council.  The chairperson
shall be elected by vote of the California Apprenticeship Council.
Beginning with appointments in 1985, three representatives each of
employers and employees, and one public representative shall serve
until January 15, 1989.  In 1987, three representatives each of the
employers and employees, and one public representative shall serve
until January 15, 1991.  Any member whose term expires on January 15,
1986, shall continue to serve until January 15, 1987.  Thereafter
each member shall serve for a term of four years.  Any member
appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the
term of his or her predecessor shall be appointed for the remainder
of that term.  Each member of the council shall receive the sum of
one hundred dollars ($100) for each day of actual attendance at
meetings of the council, for each day of actual attendance at
hearings by the council or a committee thereof pursuant to Section
3082, and for each day of actual attendance at meetings of other
committees established by the council and approved by the Director of
Industrial Relations, together with his or her actual and necessary
traveling expenses incurred in connection therewith.
  SEC. 5.  Section 3073.1 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
   3073.1.  (a) The division shall randomly audit apprenticeship
programs approved under this chapter during each five-year period
commencing January 1, 2000, to ensure that the program is complying
with its standards, that all on-the-job training is performed by
journeymen, that all related and supplemental instruction required by
the apprenticeship standards is being provided, that all work
processes in the apprenticeship standards are being covered, and that
graduates have completed the apprenticeship program's requirements.
The division shall examine each apprenticeship program to determine
whether apprentices are graduating from the program on schedule or
dropping out and to determine whether graduates of the program have
obtained employment as journeymen.  Every apprenticeship program
sponsor shall have a duty to cooperate with the division in
conducting an audit.
   (b) Audit reports shall be presented to the California
Apprenticeship Council and shall be made public, except that the
division shall not make public information which would infringe on
the privacy of individual apprentices.  The division shall recommend
remedial action to correct deficiencies recognized in the audit
report, and the failure to correct deficiencies within a reasonable
period of time shall be grounds for withdrawing state approval of a
program.  Nothing shall prevent the division from conducting more
frequent audits of apprenticeship programs where deficiencies have
been identified.
   (c) The division shall give priority in conducting audits to
programs that have been identified as having deficiencies.  The
division may conduct simplified audits for programs with fewer than
five registered apprentices.
  SEC. 6.  Section 3073.2 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
   3073.2.  (a) The California Apprenticeship Council may adopt
industry-specific training criteria for use by apprenticeship
programs subject to the requirements of this chapter.  The adoption
of these criteria, as established following notice and workshop,
under Section 212.01 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations
shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340)
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
   (b) The audits conducted by the division pursuant to Section
3073.1 shall ensure that any applicable training criteria are
followed.
   (c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2003, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2003, deletes or extends
that date.
  SEC. 7.  Section 3075 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
   3075.  (a) An apprenticeship program may be administered by a
joint apprenticeship committee, unilateral management or labor
apprenticeship committee, or an individual employer.  Programs may be
approved by the chief in any trade in the state or in a city or
trade area, whenever the apprentice training needs justify the
establishment.  Where a collective bargaining agreement exists, a
program shall be jointly sponsored unless either party to the
agreement waives its right to representation in writing.  Joint
apprenticeship committees shall be composed of an equal number of
employer and employee representatives.
   (b) For purposes of this section, the apprentice training needs in
the building and construction trades shall be deemed to justify the
approval of a new apprenticeship program only if any of the following
conditions are met:
   (1) There is no existing apprenticeship program approved under
this chapter serving the same craft or trade and geographic area.
   (2) Existing apprenticeship programs approved under this chapter
that serve the same craft or trade and geographic area do not have
the capacity, or neglect or refuse, to dispatch sufficient
apprentices to qualified employers at a public works site who are
willing to abide by the applicable apprenticeship standards.
   (3) Existing apprenticeship programs approved under this chapter
that serve the same trade and geographic area have been identified by
the California Apprenticeship Council as deficient in meeting their
obligations under this chapter.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the California Apprenticeship
Council may approve a new apprenticeship program if special
circumstances, as established by regulation, justify the
establishment of the program.
  SEC. 8.  Section 3080 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
   3080.  (a) For the purpose of providing greater diversity of
training or continuity of employment, any apprentice agreement made
under this chapter may in the discretion of the California
Apprenticeship Council be signed by an association of employers or an
organization of employees instead of by an individual employer.  In
that case, the apprentice agreement shall expressly provide that the
association of employers or organization of employees does not assume
the obligation of an employer but agrees to use its best endeavors
to procure employment and training for an apprentice with one or more
employers who will accept full responsibility, as herein provided,
for all the terms and conditions of employment and training set forth
in the agreement between the apprentice and employer association or
employee organization during the period of the apprentice's
employment.  The apprentice agreement shall also expressly provide
for the transfer of the apprentice, subject to the approval of the
California Apprenticeship Council, to an employer or employers who
shall sign a written agreement with the apprentice, and if the
apprentice is a minor, with the apprentice's parent or guardian, as
specified in Section 3079, contracting to employ the apprentice for
the whole or a definite part of the total period of apprenticeship
under the terms and conditions of employment and training set forth
in the apprentice agreement.
   (b) All apprenticeship programs with more than one employer or an
association of employers shall include provisions sufficient to
ensure meaningful representation of the interests of apprentices in
the management of the program.
  SEC. 9.  Section 3098 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
   3098.  An apprentice registered in an approved apprenticeship
program in any of the building and construction trades shall be
employed only as an apprentice when performing any construction work
for an employer that is a party, individually or through an employer
association, to any apprenticeship agreement or standards covering
that individual.
